Writer: Oren Peli
Starring: Katie Featherston
Micah Sloat
Rating: *****
The reason this is in my top 5 is because it is one of the only films to really effect me. It is one of those films that makes you really paranoid that every bump in your house is something else. It really is, for me, one of the most terrifying cinema experiences I have ever had, which only got worse with 1 and 2.
Katie and Micah (Featherston & Sloat) are a young couple who have recently started experiencing strange goings on in their house. Micah buys a camera to try and capture some of the action, which Katie gets annoyed about, but they didn't quite expect things to go the way they do. It starts as a bump. then a door closing, then things get bigger until Katie get physically dragged from her bed. The tension builds up and things get so intense that their relationship becomes frail, but they pull together just in time for one of the most intense finales ever made.
What is so powerful is the way it is shot, and the characters simplicity, it makes it relatable meaning you get scared quicker. The subtle things really make you think and force you to become unnerved, and it is what your imagination does to you that is so amazing. Your eyes play tricks on you, and you think you hear things you don't, and it is all of these things that really affected me.
My favourite thing about the film is how it all came about. The director (Peli) was always scared of ghosts so decided to make a film about his fear. It was all shot in his house and only cost $15000 to make, which in the movie business is absolutely nothing. The actor's were paid $500 each (although they got a raise after the success), and if it wasn't for fans campaigning so hard the film never would have been released, which is why the film was made in 07 but released in 09. Everything about it is fantastic, and for such a cheaply made film, it absolutely owned the box office and was one of the biggest success stories in cinema history. The acting is perfect and with two brilliant sequels after it, it is part of one of the scariest franchises out there.
As one of the only films to still affect me it had to appear in my top 5, but maybe you disagree. Let me know below.
Paranormal Activity - Trailer
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